Chapter 19
Chapter 19
Nick
W e sat at Lake’s house, having a Montgomery dinner of our own. Well, Montgomery and friends.
Everybody had pitched in with something, whether it be food, drinks, games, or helping make sure Luke, Brooke’s son, was occupied.
It had been a long couple of weeks since the fire, and now decisions were being made, people were finally learning exactly what happened, and all I wanted to do was sleep. And wake up next to Lake. Which if I had my way about it would be every day to the end of my days. But she didn’t know all of that yet. She would, eventually. Once we found the time on our own terms. But we had started as a fake date, and would end up as the real deal.
Leo, Tristan, and Taryn sat outside near the fire pit, laughing at something. I didn’t know exactly how things were going to work out for the shop, but I knew they would stay. They were family.
Leif came up to my side, Sebastian on my other.
“So. How’s it going?” Sebastian asked, a little too nonchalantly.
I snorted, took a sip of my beer.
“Just thinking.”
“I’m just glad that the fire damage wasn’t as bad as we originally thought,” Leif said after a minute.
I nodded as Lake slid up between me and Sebastian, and I wrapped my arm around her. She leaned against me, as our friends and family milled around before dinner was served.
“We can open up again soon after we add a few coats of paint and fix the windows. The water did the most damage, but with the floors that we chose, we’re not going to have to redo them anytime soon,” Leif said.
“That’s true, though it’s going to feel weird. A little different.”
Lake sighed. “I won’t say that I’m sorry because every time I do, you all yell at me.”
“Damn straight,” all three of us said at the same time, and Lake snorted.
“It’s not my fault, and Zach’s going to be in jail for a long damn time for many things, but the vampire café is opening soon, and our shop won’t be far behind. And, I think I know what we can do next.”
“Open up a new place?” Leif put in, and I froze.
I turned to him, eyes wide.
“What? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I like our location, it’s in a good place, but the building’s getting a little too small for all of us, don’t you think? When we got this place, it was the only place that worked at the time, but it was never perfect. The repairs on it won’t take as long as we thought, not with the family in the business. I figure we will stay there for another few months until we find a new location. One where we can put in a café next door.”
I looked between all of them. “Are we going into a franchise? Are we going to open up a café even though that’s not in our wheelhouse?”
“I have a few feelers out there. Mostly the Montgomerys have a few feelers out there. But I don’t know, I think this was a good place to start, and we’ll work here for a few months once we open back up. And then we’ll see what happens. But I don’t know. I think we need a little bit more room.”
I looked down at Lake, who smiled. “We can afford it. Between the insurance payouts and our profit margins, I think it’s time. This is a good starting point.”
I let out a rough laugh. “Not in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought that we would’ve gotten here. But okay. We work at this shop for a little bit longer while we hunt for a better one. That’s not going to be scary at all.”
“I know that the family is working on a few other businesses, either extensions of what our parents have or what the cousins are thinking of building. So we’ll look into it.”
“Are we going to just make a Montgomeryville then?” I asked dryly as Lake burst out laughing.
“I kind of like that idea. Montgomeryville. It has a nice ring to it.”
I shuddered. “Oh, please stop. I’m not a Montgomery. I know you guys tried to force me into it, but I’m not.”
Noah came forward, his roommate Ford at his side. “Did we hear something about a town for Montgomerys?”
“Don’t do it,” grumbled Ford. “Once you’re in, they never let you out.”
I tilted my beer towards Ford. “Smart man.”
Ford grinned and Noah rolled his eyes. “Well, we’re looking for real estate as well, at least in the future. So let’s talk.”
I looked at him and frowned. “For what?”
“For reasons. Lake will help us. Not monetarily,” Noah corrected as I scowled. She patted my chest at my overprotectiveness, and I let myself relish it. “But figuring things out. That’s what she’s good at. She’s a genius.”
Lake blushed and I laughed. “That is true. She’s the smartest person I know. She has me, after all.”
Everybody laughed, while Sebastian just shook his head. “You are very lucky that she’s not going to yell at you in public.”
“Do you not know me? I will totally yell at him in public,” she added.
“Okay, that is true.”
“Hey, Sebastian, baby? I’m exhausted. Do you think we could head home soon?” Marley came forward, waddling. “I’m sorry for interrupting. Pregnancy brain is a thing.”
Sebastian hurried over, cupping his girlfriend’s face. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m just tired. And I know I’m hungry, and dinner’s almost ready, but I think I just want to take a nap. I blame the baby. They keep pressing on my bladder.”
Aria, Sebastian’s twin, smiled and hugged the woman close. “It’s okay. We’ll take care of you. You can continue to make plans while I drive her home. Don’t worry about it.”
“No, I’ll go with you.”
Sebastian looked up at us and winced. “Sorry for leaving early. But the baby calls.”
“I hope you’re talking about the actual baby, not me. I hate being called baby,” Marley said with a laugh before she turned to us. “Thank you so much for the invite. I think I just need to get better sleep. It’s just hard to find a good way to angle the belly.”
“You know those body pillows helped me,” Brooke put in.
“I have the candy cane one, but I feel like I should have gotten the U-shape.”
Lake looked between them, a small smile on her face. I leaned down and whispered, “Why are you smiling?”
“Just thinking. They are adorable, aren’t they?”
“Are you thinking about what kind of pillow you want?” I growled.
She laughed. “Not really. Maybe. Let’s get used to the whole being together and building up a new possible franchise, starting a school, opening up a café, and figuring out exactly whose bed we’re sleeping in tonight. Then we can think about the future.”
Everybody began to talk at once about their own lives, and I knew things were changing. That the plans I thought we had made were probably out the door, and we were going on to bigger and better things. It was exhilarating and frightening, but I trusted Lake with everything. I leaned down and kissed her softly and she moaned into me. Somebody cheered, another person booed, but I just held Lake close.
“Well, we can always practice.”
She giggled, somebody gagged, and I ignored them.
“You with the lines. I like them.”
“I try. Now let’s go eat, and then I guess we can figure out everything else. I’ll do whatever you say. You just tell me where to put things. It’s what I do best.”
“Really? You’re letting me make all the decisions? I love it.”
“I must be in a haze. I didn’t mean that,” I teased, but she just laughed and pulled me into the dining room, where everybody started to pile food on their plates.
I smiled, laughing around with my family, and figured that this was okay. I might not have known where I began or how I had gotten here, but I wasn’t leaving anytime soon.
I was going to marry that woman, I might not know when yet, and she might not even know it yet. But I would.
Although I wouldn’t be a Montgomery, she could keep the name, but I’d keep my own. For my mom and my dad. Even if I didn’t get the name, I had the family.
That was the Montgomery way.
Even if it had taken me nearly too long to realize it.